There are no words.

This is an English primer used at some of the local schools.  I'm not so sure about the title of this book.  It doesn't exactly inspire confidence.  My favorite part is at the bottom where it says Learn English with a different method.   What method is it referring to?  The Titanic didn't exactly make it to shore.  I absolutely love this.  I have nothing else to say.

Wedding Fun

I went to my first wedding in this country last week.  Wedding ceremonies vary here depending on the background of the families.  However there are some broad similarities that I will try and explain.  It is not like at home where there is just one ceremony.  There are several ceremonies and rituals that take place over the span of several days.  One of the first rituals is the mehindi ceremony, and it takes place at the home of the bride on the eve of the wedding.  This is when the bride's relatives and friends gather for a meal and someone puts mehindi (henna) on the bride's hands and feet.  My partner D is really good at applying henna so our friend asked her to come and do it for her wedding.  This was a really big honor for D, and she did an awesome job.  While D was putting it on the bride, I talked with the bride's family and put henna on some of the bride's cousins.  Start to finish, it took D a little over 2 hours to put the designs on the bride.  The next day we went back to the bride's house for another meal and the giving of gifts.  A typical wedding gift here is money.  There were about 50-60 women sitting on the floor in a small room plus all the women who were outside serving the men.  The food was delicious and was served to us within 5 minutes of arriving.  They serve all the guests as they arrive.  (The women don't get served meat at weddings unless there is some left over after the men eat.)  The groom arrives at the bride's house amid much fanfare, and then there is a private wedding ceremony open only to close relatives.  After this the bride and groom depart for the groom's home where his extended family is waiting, and over the next few days, the groom's family will host several ceremonies to celebrate the match.   

Weddings here are festive occasions requiring fancier clothing than what I normally wear.
Here is a picture of me in the suit I bought for the big day.

The Red Fort

This is another monument that I visited on my trip to Agra, and truth be told, I liked the fort more than the Taj.  It is so huge.  We only stayed for an hour because we had to get back on the road, but someone could spend hours exploring there.  Here are some interesting facts about the Red Fort as told to me by our tour guide.  This fort, which is actually more like a walled city, predates the Taj and sits only 2.5 kilometers away.  It covers about 95 acres of land.  Within the massive red sandstone walls, there are palaces, mosques, gardens, great halls, and pavillions.

Taj Mahal

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to the Taj Mahal.  It is really beautiful and breathtaking in person.  However, I feel like in my pictures it looks fake.  It was a beautiful day and wasn't too terribly crowded so all in all a good day.  We spent the morning at the Taj Mahal and then ate some yummy Indian food.  (If you ever have the chance to eat Murg Malai Tikka Kabab, take it.  This is chicken that has been marinated in a yogurt with cream, saffron, and other herbs.  It is delicious.)  In the afternoon, we toured the Red Fort which I will blog about tomorrow.  Here are some random facts about the Taj for those who are interested.  The Taj is a mausoleum made of white marble which was built by the Moghal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of one of his wives.  (FYI: She died while giving birth to their 14th child.)  It took over 20 years to complete and over 20,000 workers were involved in the construction.